


Together With Indigo Wings

by AtropaDesideria



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Astral Travel AU, F/M, Laven and Yulma are minor relationships, Out of Body Experiences, Some character's ages are changed to fit into highschool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 03:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13604904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtropaDesideria/pseuds/AtropaDesideria
Summary: As if reading her mind, he got up and casually strolled across the water’s surface, both butterflies following behind him, and stopped within arms reach of her. Lenalee looked into his eyes, noticing that they were a lovely, amber color.





	Together With Indigo Wings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [huapomme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/huapomme/gifts).



> This is a surprise gift for Huapomme because they are a great friend.

Lenalee created the scenery from memory, just like she had seen in her dream. In the center, she painted a nighttime landscape with two beautiful butterflies and the silhouette of a tall man standing behind them, almost fully hidden in shadows. The piece as a whole was lovely, made from countless bush strokes that she had applied with decent skill.

"That's coming along really good. Better than mine anyway," an excited, purple haired teen said next to her.

"I'm sure yours came out fine," she replied, placing her paintbrush on her easel to take a glance at his work.

It was a painting of a long haired man welding a martial arts sword. The detail was alright, but the proportions were slightly off. The man's head was too big for his body and the practice katana he was holding was even larger. Despite the tiny imperfections, it was obvious who the man was.

Lenalee held in a giggle, not wanting to hurt his feelings. "Alma, you always draw Kanda.”

Alma grinned, his blue eyes lighting up at the mention of their mutual friend. "The subject was to paint something I find beautiful, so I couldn't resist," he admitted unabashedly.

"You should just tell him already, you know," she said, watching his face redden.

He grew flustered as he turned his focus back to his painting. "Y-you know I can't.”

"I know Kanda can be a stoic jerk at times, but he's a good guy. Just be honest with him and I'm sure he'll be honest with you," Lenalee advised, leaving out the fact that she was fairly sure Kanda felt the same way for Alma.

He peeked at her with hope-filled eyes. "You really think so?"

"Definitely.” That single word was spoken with confidence.

His attitude turned cheery once again and he continued painting. "Thanks for being so supportive.”

"Anytime,” she replied, returning her focus to her own painting.

Lenalee added a few more touches to it, blending colors here and there and darkening lines until she was satisfied. After she finished, she stepped back, admiring her work with a critical eye and placing all of her tools in their plastic holding cup to signal that she was done.

A voice disturbed their moment of silence as its gray haired, middleaged owner strode up behind them. “I'm excited to see what you've created. Oh, they are wonderful!”

"Mr. Tiedoll, we can take these home, right?" Alma asked, gripping his painting of Kanda by the sides.

Tiedoll’s face beamed with delight. "Of course! I'm so happy to see my students take pride in what they created.”

Ignoring Tiedoll’s fawning over their work, Lenalee brought her paint tools over to the classroom’s large, metal sink to clean them. She dipped them one by one in container filled with strong scented turpentine, swirling them around in the liquid until most of the paint had washed off and drying them on an old formerly white rag that had turned brown due to repeated use.

The bell rang just as she placed her fully cleaned supplies back in the class’ supply cabinet. Most of the students exited the room, striking up conversation with each other, while some of the other students that had been too slow at cleaning up started to rush.

Alma was among the slower students, still drying off his brushes with a nervous look on his face—likely afraid of getting in trouble with his next teacher for being tardy.

Lenalee wanted to help, but had to hurry to her own class. “See you later, Alma!” she called out, feeling guilty about deserting her friend.

She sat through all her classes, paying attention to everything she learned and making sure to take plenty of notes. By the time school was over, she was tired and craving a sweet snack.

A new convenience store had opened up on her route home so she decided to stop by to purchase something to sate her sugar craving. She scanned the stocked shelves, eyeing the assortment of junk food and comparing prices.

Just as she was about to buy a package of cookies, a sign on a medium sized cooler caught her attention—buy one ice cream, get one free. Lenalee peered into the cooler. After some indecision, she slid open the lid, reached inside to pull out two vanilla cones with solid chocolate coating, and carried them to the register.

The handsome punk-goth cashier paid little attention to her as she checked out, only giving her the basic courteous responses expected of a store employee. In between scanning the items and grabbing the receipt, he unconsciously rubbed his eyes, smudging some of the eyeliner that he had applied heavily on his face.

“Long day?” Lenalee asked, unsure if it would be rude to point out his ruined makeup.

A sigh escaped his lips, long and exaggerated. “My brother called out today so I had to take both of our shifts. I’ve been here since open,” the man told her, placing her receipt in the plastic bag with her ice cream cones.

“Well, at least it’s nice you help each other out,” Lenalee replied, not knowing what else to say.

“Yeah, I guess you could put it like that. Jasdero isn’t the worst brother to have,” he admitted, a genuine smile stretching over his face.

They talked for a bit after that, exchanging introductions and discussing the pros-and-cons of having siblings. His name was Devit and he had a kind personality, although he came off as a bit too edgy at times in conversation. As she went to leave, she let him know about his smeared eyeliner, receiving a grateful thanks.

Outside in the cramped five spot parking lot, she opened one of the ice-creams, peeling the aluminum wrapping off and throwing it in her bag with the other cone. Not wanting to head home right away, she took a detour through a large park, avoiding the crowded picnic areas and spots with children playing Frisbee.

The park was covered in trimmed green grass and colorful flower beds with wooden benches scattered all about the area for visitors to rest. Birds chirped and searched the walkway for crumbs as Lenalee made her way past them to a pond. The park’s caretakers had stocked the pond with exotic fish, and it had become one of her favorite areas to hang out.

Lenalee dropped her shopping bag on the grass and then slipped her teal backpack off her shoulders, angling it so it didn’t hit the ice-cream she was gripping and letting it fall next to the bag.

Crouching over the pond, she poked the index finger of her free hand in the cool water and giggled as a bunch of koi fish took interest in it, nipping her with their ticklish mouths. Happily, she pulled her finger out and went back to eating her frozen snack before it melted all over her.

A lightheaded sensation hit her for just a second, forcing her to sit down so that she wouldn’t faint. Between the haze of her vision, she watched a large butterfly flutter by, its body slightly translucent. Finding its semi-visibility strange, she tried to focus her eyes on it, only becoming dizzier as she did so.

“Are you alright?” a voice laced with concern questioned from a short distance away, causing her to look in the direction it came from.

A tall man in a black hoodie approached her, his long legs allowing him to reach her with fewer strides. Between the big, thick-lensed glasses that covered his eyes and the hood that he had pulled up over his head, it was difficult to tell what he looked like.

“I’m fine. I think I just waited too long to eat and got a little dizzy,” she responded, hoping that was really the case, as she had always had good health.

The man reached up to adjust his glasses, his dark fingers sprouting out of a gray fingerless glove with tattered edges. Lenalee thought that she saw a hint of amber eyes behind the lenses, but couldn’t be certain without getting closer to him.

“Did you come to eat the fish, too?” the man asked, leaving her dumbfounded.

She stared at him, utterly confused. “The fish? These fish?”

The stranger turned his head away, stifling a chuckle. Lenalee’s face turned red as she worried that maybe she had misunderstood him and made herself look stupid. Perhaps the man had meant fish from a restaurant in town. There were plenty of restaurants nearby, after all, and he might have been a tourist.

“It was a joke,” he said, moving to sit a few feet away from her by the water’s edge and added in a lower tone, “I guess I’m not funny.”

Normally she would feel uncomfortable sitting next to such an odd person, yet she felt completely relaxed. Her eyes drifted back and forth from the water to him multiple times as she tried to study him without staring. If he noticed what she was doing, he didn’t say anything.

“Do you live around here?” Lenalee inquired, surprising herself with her own nosiness.

She wouldn’t have wanted a stranger asking her about personal information and yet she went and did it herself. To her relief, the man didn’t appear uncomfortable by her interest in him. He responded to her question casually as if he was talking to just another friend.

“I live a few blocks from here, up past Link’s Bakery,” he vaguely supplied, not elaborating on the exact location.

Lenalee shifted, adjusting a leg that has fallen asleep so that she was more comfortable. “Oh.”

His stomach growled, interrupting her train of thought. Despite being complete strangers, he seemed so familiar. If Lenalee hadn’t been excellent at remembering people, she would have thought that perhaps they had met before.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the other ice-cream. “It might be a bit melted by now, but you can have it if you want,” she offered as she inched closer to him on her butt until they were side by side, holding it out for him to accept.

Underneath the shadow of his hood, she saw he smile. “I can’t refuse a gift from a beautiful woman.”

Ignoring the feeling that filled her chest at his cliché remark and possible pick-up line, she let him take it from her. He reached out, grasping it by the cone. His fingers brushed against hers, their contact brief.

He pulled his hand away and unwrapped the ice cream, not saying anything about how some of the coating was cracked and most of it’s filling had already turned to mush and. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, watching him slowly and neatly eat the mess that was left of the frozen treat, even going so far as to thoroughly lick the wrapper clean.

The way he made sure to eat every last bit of it, made her wonder if he had been starving. When he finished it and stood up, unintentionally angling slightly closer to her as he pushed himself off the ground, something in her body pulsed at the thought of their bodies touching again.

“I’m going to throw my trash out. I can take yours too if you don’t need it,” he offered, eyeing the shopping bag turned garbage bag and holding out his gloved hand.

Lenalee looked at his hand, the desire to take it flooding her chest. She silently lectured herself for that thought, ignoring the strange magnetism she felt for him. Thinking such things about a total stranger, when she hadn’t even seen his full face? Her older brother would die if he knew.

“I actually have to get going, so I can throw it out myself. Thank you, though.” She stood and peered up into his hoodie, trying to get a better look at his face.

He grinned at her, flashing bright white teeth. “Well, then, goodbye,” he said, watching her as he waited for her reply.

“Goodbye, nice meeting you…” She lingered another moment after giving her goodbye, shuffling her feet awkwardly.

The man nodded and left. Lenalee watched him stop to throw the trash in a nearby garbage can and continue on his way. She snatched her backpack off the ground and walked in a different direction, throwing out her own garbage and heading home.

It was evening by the time Lenalee arrived at her apartment complex. Under the porch light, she dug through her backpack for her key and unlocked the door, removing her cute flats and leaving them against the wall where a few pairs of other shoes were lined up.

The smell of food filled the house and she heard the sound of running water in the kitchen. “Komui, I’m home!”

Komui came out of the kitchen dressed in a blue T-shirt and black sweatpants, an unhappy expression on his face “Lenalee! You’re late! Are you ok? Were you with friends?”

She pulled him into a hug, feeling bad about having worried him. “I went to the park after school. I’m sorry if I worried you. My phone died during school and I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

Komui returned the hug, squeezing her tightly. “You’re safe, so it’s alright. Just be more aware of things like that when you go out. You’re a strong girl, but I still worry.”

“I will,” she agreed, staying like that for a moment longer and then pulling away to sniff the air. “So what’s for dinner?”

Komui blushed, rubbing his face. “Well… it _was_ a chicken and vegetable stir fry.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You overcooked it again didn’t you?”

“I only fell asleep for a few minutes,” he said, not exactly denying her accusation. “I ordered pizza instead.”

Lenalee moved to the kitchen with Komui trailing behind her, his slippers clapping the ground with each step. “I think you’re the one whose safety is a concern. If you’re tired after work, I don’t mind handling the cooking.”

He grabbed a large pizza box off the kitchen counter and placed it on the glass top table. “That shouldn’t be your concern. You only need to worry about doing good in school and enjoying time with your friends right now,” he argued, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs.

Lenalee frowned. Not only did her brother work himself to the bone, he took on most of the household responsibilities and rejected all her offers to help out. She doubted he would ever change his mind. With a sigh, she focused on being able to eat together, polishing off the pizza as they conversed about their day.

She told him about school and the nice cashier that she had met, but omitted her interaction with the stranger in the park. She knew Komui wouldn’t have approved of it, so she kept it to herself. She didn’t need to stress him out more than he already was.

When they had finished eating, she gathered their dirty dishes and put them in the sink to wash—one of the few things Komui allowed her to help with. She put the clean dishes away and prepared for bed, showering and changing into pajamas.

Before sleeping, she spent some time on her laptop, talking with friends and checking out her favorite social media sites. After a few hours, her eyes grew heavy and she put her laptop away. It didn’t take long for her to give into the pull of unconsciousness.

At the mercy of her inner mind, she was forced to live through multiple plots, her dream self making her way through each artificially created scene, oblivious to the fact that she was dreaming. Then something in her brain shifted and the imagery changed to her bedroom.

“My room…” she mumbled, taking complete control of her actions, waiting for her vision adjust.

Moonlight streamed through her large windows, illuminating her surroundings. Glancing at her bed, she saw herself still in it, resting peacefully. She noticed how still her body was and panicked, walking over to check on her breathing. Relief came over her as she saw her chest rising, slow and at a normal pace. She wasn’t dead like she feared, or at least she was pretty certain that she wasn’t.

A butterfly flew past her, landing on her wooden bureau, next to a makeup kit. She reached for it gently, so as to not injure its delicate body. It allowed her to lift it, flapping its indigo colored wings as she brought it closer to her face.

The insect began to glow bright, startling her as she let go and flinched back. “What the heck?” She eyed it as it struggled to keep itself airborne upon being released so abruptly.

It flew up and perched on her window sill for a second and then flew through the window—glass and all—making her gasp. Lenalee ran to peer out it, trying to see where the ethereal creature was headed. Debating the consequences of leaving the house at night without permission, she decided to follow after it.

Still clad in only pajamas, she reached her front door. However, when she grabbed for the doorknob, her hand went straight through, immune to the laws of physics just like the butterfly.

Steeling her nerves, she stared at the door. “Here goes nothing…”

As she stepped forward, her body moved right through the door, exiting on the other side. It was dark outside, the only light coming from a row of street lamps and the flicker of a neighbor’s television that was visible through their living room window. A dog barked in the distance, followed by another dog returning the call. Lenalee gazed around, searching for the butterfly.

Spotting it on a telephone wire, she frowned. It was too high up to reach. She considered her options, remembering the door. If she could pass through objects, then perhaps she could do other things as well? Fighting past her initial reluctance at the idea, she sprinted forward, and jumped. Landing with the grace of a feline, she tested her new ability by treading along the wire.

The insect took off, and she followed it without hesitation, reaching the park. All the birds she had heard earlier that day were silent, asleep in their trees, their tweets replaced by the chirp of crickets. The water, however, was now teeming with life.

Frogs and turtles splashed at the surface, safe from the dozen of human visitors that frequented the park during the day when they were at the mercy of being caught and mishandled. Suddenly, she felt eyes on her. Peering around at her surroundings, she saw a man on the other side of the pond. He sat, relaxed, with one leg stretched out, a second butterfly perched on his knee.

Her luminescent guide crossed the pond, joining the the other of its kind, flitting and mingling. The combined light coming from both insects’ wings allowed her to see the man’s face in the dark and she let out a breath as she took in his features. He was gorgeous. He had dark skin and curly hair that hung in his face, gathering slightly more to one side of his forehead than the other.

The white dress shirt and black pants he wore looked fantastic, as if he had stepped out of a modeling magazine. She didn’t know who he was, but she wanted to go to him.

As if reading her mind, he got up and casually strolled across the water’s surface, both butterflies following behind him, and stopped within arms reach of her. Lenalee looked into his eyes, noticing that they were a lovely amber color—almost pure golden.

She paused, trying to remember where she had seen those eyes before. “Who are you?”

“You ask that a lot,” he replied, tilting his head as a large smile pulled at his lips. “You can call me Tyki. Tyki Mikk.”

She repeated his name to herself in her head, memorizing it. “Nice to meet you, Tyki. I’m Lenalee Lee.”

He shook his head. “We have already met four times now. I guess that’s not entirely your fault though.”

“What? No we haven’t. I would definitely remember meeting you,” she blurted, face reddening.

Tyki chuckled, a sound Lenalee could have sworn she had heard before. “I’ll take that as a compliment. We have met before. You just don’t remember. It’s a side effect of returning to your body, I guess.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘returning to my body’? I’m not dead. I checked.”

“No, but right now you aren’t exactly in your body either,” he explained, his bright eyes focused on her face.

She blinked, processing that information and applying it to what she had experienced until the situation made sense. “So… is this like astral projection?” she asked, recalling what she knew of the phenomenon that she had only read about once in an online article.

“That’s one word for it,” Tyki agreed, slowly leaning toward her and then pulling back again once his face had gotten close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin.

He ran his large hand through his hair and sighed, turning just a bit to the side, away from her. A short, high pitched whistle came from a nearby tree and they both glanced in the direction, expecting to spot a bird, but it was difficult to make out much of anything among the leaves so they focused their attention back on each other.

“So right now, I am my spirit?” Lenalee questioned, earning a partial nod from Tyki.

He gazed up at the sky, one hand still in his hair. “Spirit, soul, astral body, whatever word you want to use. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but like this, there’s not much we can’t do.”

“Except open door handles,” Lenalee stated, remembering her inability to touch them.

Tyki scrunched his face in aggravation. “Or smoke.”

She narrowed her eyes, disapprovingly. “You smoke? Those are practically poison.”

“We are standing here, detached from our physical bodies and that’s what you’re concerned about? You’re still as interesting as when we first met,” he said, wholeheartedly amused.

Lenalee’s heart warmed at the compliment. “That’s right, you said this is our fourth meeting. So we have spent time together before?”

Tyki stepped closer to her again, his near proximity making her tremble with emotion. “I met you the first time you projected about three months ago. Our meetings since then have been few and you seem to forget me when you wake up, but we had some fun times together.”

Lenalee’s face reddened as she thought about how comfortable she felt around him over just a short span of time, heat consuming her insides as images of them in explicit acts flitted across her mind. “How fun exactly?”

Tyki looked baffled by her question until the meaning hit him and he blushed. “We haven’t… I mean you couldn’t even remember me each time you left.”

Something deep inside her verified that he was telling the truth. She smiled at him, friendly and genuine. Knowing that he was the kind of man who wouldn’t take advantage of a person only made her feel more at ease around him.

“How about you show me some more fun then?” she said, playfully getting on her tiptoes and tiptoeing across the grass like a ballerina.

He stood silently for a few minutes, watching her before responding. “As you wish,” he said, surprising her by lifting her off her feet and into his arms bridal style.

She squeaked, about to ask what he was doing when he lifted them into the air, walking over trees and rooftops until they reached a tall, square building, a sign on top reading “Museum of Ancient History.”

Tyki landed in front of the building’s main door, putting her down and taking her hand. He guided her through the locked door, ignoring her protests as she pointed out that they were breaking and entering.

“Don’t worry so much. No one else can see us,” he said, dragging her through a clean hallway with white walls and burgundy colored carpet to a huge room with multiple glass displays.

Relaxing a bit at knowing that they couldn’t get in trouble, Lenalee allowed him to show her around. The museum was lit up despite being closed to the public, the management clearly not concerned about wasting electricity. With a sense of curiosity, they breezed through the connected rooms on Greece and Rome, exchanging occasional comments while they admired the painted pottery, sculptures and murals.

When they became bored with the first two rooms, they passed through another pristine hallway, coming out in one large room filled with Egyptian artifacts. Tyki didn’t seem too interested in the educational experience of their visit, instead appearing more interested in the visual aesthetic of the timeworn artifacts.

She studied a sarcophagus, torn between finding it creepy and intriguing. It had gold plating on the head area, with designs carved into the torso section. Hieroglyphics covered the lower half of it, telling a story that she didn’t have the knowledge to translate.

“You liked that the last time we came here, too,” Tyki informed her, drawing her attention away from the intricate coffin.

“I wish I could remember. This place is amazing. I don’t know why I always thought that it would be boring to visit,” Lenalee said, attempting to touch the glass, only to pull her hand back as It slipped through the solid material.

Tyki made as if to say something and then stopped. “Is it only the place that you wish you could remember?” he finally managed to inquire.

She looked at him. He was a stunningly beautiful man who had been kind to her so far. Her chest was tight with emotion as she started to answer, but her words were drowned out by a voice in her mind. She recognized the distant voice as Komui’s and immediately pictured him as he probably looked. Next thing she knew everything around was consumed by blinding white that faded away into darkness.

Opening her eyes, she saw her brother’s face leaned over hers and struggled to get up. Her body felt numb at first, then the ability to move returned. Softness underneath her told her that she was in a bed. Sitting up slowly, she recognized her bedroom.

“You didn’t wake up the first few times I called. I made breakfast,” Komui said, picking up a blanket that had fallen on the floor. “Are you feeling ok? You never oversleep.”

“I’m fine, I was just—” she trailed off, stopping herself before she mentioned Tyki or astral projection. “I was having a nice dream about a friend.”

“Hopefully just a friend,” Komui replied, reminding her how he felt about the idea of her dating.

“Just a friend,” Lenalee agreed, knowing that friends was all she and Tyki technically were—for the moment at least.

She ate breakfast with Komui and attended school like routine. She couldn’t help but space out and think of Tyki every so often and it caused her to put less focus into learning than usual as her morning classes sped by. It seemed like the day was almost over by the time she joined her friends in the lunchroom. Alma and Kanda sat together across from her, their hands intertwined.

“It looks like your talk went well,” she said, winking at Alma.

Rather than get flustered again like she expected, a prideful grin covered his face. “It went very well. We’re official.”

“So, are you guys sharing a bed now?” a teasing voice cut in.

Kanda choked on the bottled green tea he was drinking, causing some to dribble down his chin as he turned to glare at the owner of the voice. Alma handed him a napkin as two more of their friends approached, carrying trays of food.

“That’s none of your business, stupid rabbit,” Kanda spat out, loud enough to draw the attention of another table.

Alma spoke up before Kanda could say anything else and cause a scene. “Lavi! Allen! You guys aren’t pretending to be sick today?”

Allen and Lavi garnered their fair amount of attention. Not only did they have a tendency of causing trouble while they were together—unintentionally, of course—but their looks drew all eyes to them constantly. Allen, with his ghostly white hair and jagged scar over his left eye, and Lavi, with his fiery red hair and eyepatch over his right, were quite the pair.

“Don’t yell that,” Lavi shushed him, sitting down on Lenalee’s right.

Allen sat down on her left, his tray overflowing with enough food to feed three people. “We only skipped yesterday because Cross called me complaining that he had a hangover and someone needed me to pick up our parakeet from the vet. If I fail my math test today because I missed the review, I’m going to kill him.” He grumbled in between bites of his food, chomping down harder than necessary.

“Is Timcampy ok?” Lenalee asked.

“He got out of the house and a cat caught him, so Allen wanted to have him checked just in case, but he’s fine,” Lavi supplied as the pet’s owner continued inhaling his lunch.

Alma wordlessly took a few of Kanda’s potato wedges, switching them out with some of his regular french fries. “That’s good. I would be sad if anything happened to the cute yellow guy.”

Kanda let Alma do as he pleased with his food. However, when Allen jokingly reached for one of his french fries, Kanda glared menacingly at him.

Allen returned his glare with equal intensity. “You don’t have to be so stingy. You prefer the wedges anyway.”

“I’ll eat them,” Kanda snapped, eating one to prove his point.

Lavi made an aww sound and chimed in. “Those are special fries from Alma,” he joked, lifting up one of his own fries and giving dramatic smooch.

Rather than becoming upset by the teasing, Alma looked down at his food, a happy smirk pulling at his lips. Lavi reached past Lenalee and dropped a few fries onto Allen’s plate which had become nearly devoid of food. Allen gave him a grateful smile and shoved them into his mouth.

When Allen was done chewing, he turned to Lenalee. “You have been pretty quiet today. Is everything alright?”

She looked up to meet his large gray eyes and gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. I’ve just been thinking about something.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lavi offered, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Lenalee thought over the best way to phrase her problem. “I think I have a crush on someone… except I barely know him.”

Everyone at the table froze, all their attention on her. Lavi and Allen exchanged glances, something passing between them before Allen pushed his chair closer to her and put his hand on her other shoulder, mirroring Lavi.

“But you like him?” Allen questioned, making sure they all heard correctly.

“Yeah, but like I said, I barely know him,” she repeated.

Kanda straightened in his chair, more interested in the conversation than she expected from someone who acts disinterested in almost everything. “Does he go here?”

“No. I met him at the park nearby my house,” she said, leaving out the fact that neither of them were in their physical bodies at the time.

Alma frowned. “Not to sound like the mom friend, but do you at least know what he does, or how old he is?”

The four of them watched her expectantly. “I don’t know,” she confessed.

“Lenalee…” Allen started and then stopped, letting out a sigh. “I won’t tell you what to do, but be careful, ok?”

“If you get into any trouble with this guy, let us know. Me and Allen will have a talk with him,” Lavi said, squeezing her shoulder.

She placed each of of her hands of theirs. “I won’t do anything stupid, I promise.”

The four of them asked her more questions about Tyki, squeezing every bit of information they could get out of her until she called an end to their interrogation and they let the subject drop for the time being. When the lunch bell rang and they all tossed out their leftovers—except Allen who never had any—they returned their trays to the tray area and exited the cafeteria in a group.

Kanda and Alma were the first to split off on their own, leaving Lenalee with Allen and Lavi. They took their time heading to their next classes, Lavi and Allen texting on their phones next to her. Reaching a set of lockers, the two of them halted Lenalee to a stop and put their phones away at the same time.

“I think we understand a little of what you’re going through. There were a lot of issues getting in the way of us forming a relationship when we first met,” Lavi said, wrapping an arm around Allen’s waist.

Lenalee looked at them in disbelief. “I thought you guys got together after only a few months of knowing each other?”

“Sort of. We were actually together even before that, but Lavi is under a lot of pressure to join his family’s work. It made things difficult,” Allen explained.

From what she remembered, the man who adopted Lavi was the head of an organization that traveled around the world for research purposes. The specifics were unknown to her and from experience she knew that asking would only get her a vague answer. She had long given up on finding out anything more about it.

“I guess that makes sense,” she agreed, leaning back against a locker. “I just don’t know how to go about this and not mess up.”

“There is no right way to fall in love. As long as you communicate with and support each other, you will have a higher chance of making things work,” Lavi advised, tugging Allen closer to him for show.

The sweet sentiment cheered her up. She knew they were right—it was too early to start worrying about a failed relationship. “Thank you. I feel better now.”

They pulled her into a three way hug, wishing her luck and reminding her that they would be there for her if she needed them, before walking her to class. Unlike the morning ones, the rest of her classes went by too slow as she struggled to be patient with wanting to see Tyki again. After school, she went straight home.

Out of love for her brother, she forced herself to wait for him to come home for dinner, instead of rushing straight up to her room to sleep. She ate and went through her usual bedtime routine, putting on pajamas that were a bit cuter than the ones she had on the night before.

She hadn’t realized it the night before with everything unusual that happened, but she must have looked a mess compared to Tyki in his dress clothes and she wanted to look good in front of him. If it wouldn’t look suspicious if Komui happened to walk in, she would have worn regular clothes to bed

“I hope he doesn’t hate pink,” she muttered, checking herself out in the mirror.

Lenalee dressed in a long nightgown and robe combination with thigh high socks. The robe wrapped around the nightgown with an attached flower print string. She tied the string into a neat bow and rubbed some lotion on her skin, enjoying the rose fragrance. She didn’t know if Tyki could smell her when they were in their astral bodies, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Combing her medium length hair one more time for good measure, she twirled around and headed to bed. She laid down, closing her eyes and ordering her unconscious to astral project.

Her attempt didn’t work right away and she became frustrated, not really sure how she had managed to start astral projecting in the first place. Tossing and turning, it took her awhile to relax, hours passing until eventually her breathing became steady and her body stilled.

Her mind blanked and next thing she knew she was floating above her physical body, staring down at herself. She didn’t wait for any spirit insects to show up and lead the way, hurrying out of the house on her own and rushing to the park as quickly as she could.

Tyki was already there, standing near a bench and looking just as beautiful as the night before in a matching gray dress shirt and pants set. She dropped from the sky to land next to him, causing him to stumble backwards, startled.

“Tyki, you’re here!” she yelled, grabbing his wrist to help him up.

“Huh?” he mumbled, taking her hand and allowing her to help him up. “You remember me?”

“Of course I do! We had such a good time the other night, how could I not!” she said bluntly, not letting go of his wrist even after she aided him in standing.

Tyki looked down at her hand on his wrist. She noticed where he was staring and let go, only to have him grab her hand and lace his fingers through her own. Pressing his body close to hers, he rested his chin on her head.

“I was afraid that you would never remember me,” he admitted, his voice cracking so quietly that she almost missed it.

She leaned into him, her cheek pressed against his shoulder as she enjoyed the feel of him. Even in their astral bodies he was warm and comforting. Lenalee knew then that he was definitely the one for her. Being with him like that—wrapped in his arms—felt right. More than right, it felt like she had finally arrived home to a place she even didn’t know she left.

“I’m glad I did. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings by forgetting,” she apologized, adjusting her head to look at him.

He traced the fingers of his free hand over her cheek, resting his thumb near her mouth. “How about you make it up to me by spending the night with me again.”

“At the museum?” she questioned, wondering what other places they could visit for free while in their current forms.

“Anywhere you want,” he said, sliding his thumb across her lips, pressing down on them just slightly.

True to his word, he let her pick the plans. While she had found the museum interesting, there was somewhere else she wanted to go. She led the way to the local aquarium, enjoying the way his eyes sparkled at her choice.

Unlike the museum, the aquarium conserved it’s electricity, leaving only the dim backup lights on above each tank. The bulbs were just bright enough to grant them visibility to see the creatures inside. A thrum could be heard all around, coming from the water filtration systems that continuously worked to keep the tanks inhabitable.

“I wonder what these would taste like,” he commented as they passed a school of medium sized saltwater fish.

She laughed, reminded of the guy wearing the hoodie. “What’s with strange men you meet in parks and their love of eating fish?”

“You’re the one willingly spending time with this ‘strange man’,” he pointed out, causing her to laugh louder.

“I guess that’s true.” She dragged him over to a tank with a black and white striped eel inside.

The sign read “Zebra Moray” and contained a small paragraph about their life in the wild. She leaned close to the glass, trying to see part of its body that was hidden between some rocks and ocean plants. She thought back to how her hand had went through the glass at the mummy exhibit and decided to try something.

Lenalee stepped into the eel’s tank. Like she had thought, The water didn’t touch her—not exactly. She was in it and yet she wasn’t, existing between both the physical and astral planes.

Tyki’s face paled and he grabbed for her, yanking her back. “What are you doing? You can’t breath under water!”

“It’s fine Tyki, I won’t suffocate. It doesn’t affect us when we are like this,” she reassured him, amused by the contemplating look on his face.

It seemed he didn’t know _everything_ about astral projection. To prove her point, she entered the tank again, opening her mouth like if she was going to take a breath. He stepped forward nervously, but calmed down after seeing she was unharmed.

He joined her inside as she studied the eel at a close distance. It didn’t see them and made no attempt to swim away, unknowingly giving them a close up of it’s long body and sharp teeth.

After leaving the tank, she led them to another one with an octopus inside, recalling what she knew about them and their above average intelligence for a marine animal. “It’s weird that no one else can see us.”

“It isn’t impossible, just rare. I ran into a dog that could see me once and I’m glad it couldn’t touch me because it was not happy that I was on it’s property,” Tyki recounted, cringing at the obviously uncomfortable memory.

Lenalee was grateful that she hadn’t had a similar experience. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

They continued their way around the aquarium, making sure to look at each and every tank, even the ones full of more common fish. In the last room of the aquarium, she noticed the time in bright red letters on a digital clock and knew she needed to temporarily say goodbye to Tyki.

She took his hand in hers, enjoying the way he immediately began tracing his thumb over her knuckles. “I have to go. I have school in a few hours. Will I get to see you again tonight?”

“That depends on you and your terrible memory,” he said in a playful tone.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I won’t forget you anymore. You can’t hold that against me forever.”

Tyki chuckled. “I’d rather hold you against me,” he replied, pulling her against his chest.

She snuggled against him as she reminded herself that she really did have to get going. “I’ll see you later, Tyki.”

Lenalee let her eyes drift shut, thinking of her room and how she needed to get there. Opening them again, she found herself back in her physical body. Upon waking up, she found that she more exhausted than usual, something that she decided must be a side effect of not actually sleeping.

She tried to make up for it by downing an extra cup of coffee. Despite her caffeine consumption, school went by tortuously slow for her as she struggled to stay awake during her classes. Her friends caught her spacing out at lunch and stopped their conversation about the latest superhero movie to discuss her odd behavior.

“Maybe she needs the nurse,” Alma said to the group, prompting her to shake herself out of her daze and speak up.

“No, I’m just really tired today. I had a long night,” she said in between yawning.

Her yawning caught on, contagious as Lavi fought to get his response in between his own yawns. “Long as in studying long, or long as in you were with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Mysterious long?”

She rubbed her eyes, trying to force herself more awake. “The latter.”

“There’s no way Komui would have let you be out all night with any guy, especially not one you like,” Allen pointed out, taking a bite of his double-patty cheeseburger.

“He didn’t exactly know,” she confessed, feeling all of their eyes on her again.

Her newfound reckless behavior both concerned and intrigued them as they bombarded her with more questions about Tyki, inquiring about their evening and relationship status. Like before, she gave only partial answers, leaving out information that wouldn’t make sense without them knowing that she had been astral projecting.

Unsatisfied with the small amount of information she gave them, the four friends requested to meet Tyki, extending an invitation to a couples night out at the movies. She thanked the four for the invitation and said she would have to discuss it with Tyki first, her heart sinking a bit as she thought about how she had never seen him when they weren’t in their astral bodies.

Lenalee forced herself to pay attention in her last classes, reminding herself that she couldn’t let her grades fall because of her crush. She stopped in the convenience store after school, grabbing a bottle of iced coffee and chatting up Devitt who still remembered her.

She opened her newly purchased drink, taking a sip before trying her luck. “Do you know anyone named Tyki?”

Devit froze, his eyes widening. “I know someone with that name, yeah. He’s a distant cousin of mine actually,” he answered, surprising her.

She hadn’t even fully expected him to know Tyki at all, nevermind be related to him. She explained that she had met him at the park and didn’t know too much about him, but that they had gotten along well and she would like to see him again. Devit told her what he could while still protecting Tyki’s privacy.

“He might be at the park today actually. He seems to like that boring place,” he informed her.

Excited as the possibility of bumping into Tyki in the waking hour, she thanked Devitt for the help and ran to the park as fast as she could, wishing that she could fly there like she did when she astral traveled. It would be a more direct route than maneuvering her way down busy streets and across intersections with slow walk signals.

Finally she arrived, her energy burst dying down a bit as she searched around, not finding any sign of Tyki. Leaning against a tree, she let herself slide down into sitting position, releasing a tired huff. The tree’s roots dug into her behind, but she didn’t care. She leaned her head back, resting an arm over her face to block out the bright sun, regretting not pacing herself as her legs ached.

A familiar voice disturbed her rest, making her lower her arm to squint at the person who had come to stand in front of her. “Here I thought I would have to wait until tonight to see you again.”

“Tyki?” she questioned, her temporary delight at hearing what she thought was his voice changing to confusion as she spotted the man in the hoodie.

He had on a white hoodie this time, but his fingerless gloves were the same gray ones. “Hello, again,” she greeted.

“Hello, again,” he mimicked, pulling his hood down to reveal a head of dark, messy curls.

Her mouth gaped open as he removed his glasses next, tucking them in his hoodie pocket and revealing a pair of amber eyes. She pushed herself off the ground, having some difficulty at first due to her exhaustion. When she made it to her feet, he tugged her close, cradling her against him.

“I can’t believe it,” she choked out, still surprised by the man in the hoodie’s true identity. “Why didn’t you introduce yourself to me that time I gave you my ice cream?”

He gave her an awkward smile. “You had forgotten our time together, if I just went up to you and started acting like we knew each other, you would have been creeped out.”

She looked him up and down. “No offense, but you look different.”

“You have only seen me in my work clothes during our night time adventures. I had fallen asleep in them the first time we met and I started wearing them to bed regularly because of you,” he confessed, playing with a strand of her hair, twirling it around his finger.

The thought of him fussing over how he looked for her the same way she had done made her happy. He had cared about her even then. Lenalee pulled his face down to meet hers, kissing him. He eagerly returned the kiss, sliding his hand down her back to rest on her spine.

They pulled away from each other, allowing themselves to breath and then kissed again—putting more passion into it. He pushed her up against the tree, his arms serving as a cushion so that the jagged bark wouldn’t dig into her back. She ran her hand through his hair, reveling in the fluffy softness to it.

“I think we better stop… or find a room,” she joked, bringing them out of their make out session.

He raised an eyebrow. “A room huh?”

She playfully jabbed his shoulder with a manicured nail. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

He laughed, kissing her ear. “I know, I know. Dinner and a proper date first.

“How about the movies?” she asked, remembering the date night that her friends Invited them to.

He pretended to think it over, purposely taking extra long to respond. She knew he was just messing with her and decided that two could play that game. She untwined herself from his hold and started walking away.

“If it’s taking you that long to decide, I can always ask someone else,” she said, lacing her voice with faux sarcasm.

Tyki caught her, ensnaring her in his gentle hold as he said the words she hoped to hear. “A movie with you sounds perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> I would also like to thank my beta for doing her thing. <3


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